Contacting the Branch

If you have any questions or need any support please contact the Branch Office

 contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Or you can call 020 8359 2088, if we are unable to answer the telephone please leave a message speaking slowly and clearly please include your name, telephone number, membership number and a brief message about the assistance you require. We will respond as soon as we can.

Alternatively you can contact UNISON Direct Call Centre by telephone 

08000 857 857 Monday – Friday 6am – Midnight, Saturday 9am – 4pm

or make an online enquiry by clicking the following link

https://www.unison.org.uk/get-help/online-enquiries/

To Join UNISON click the following link 

https://join.unison.org.uk/

Barnet UNISON NSL meeting Thurs 28 November 6.30 pm.

Dear NSL members

Barnet Council has decided to go out to the market to ask for contractors to bid to deliver the parking enforcement service.

This will involve contractors submitting their bids to deliver the parking enforcement service for London Borough of Barnet.

Barnet UNISON has organised the first of a number of UNISON NSL members meetings in order we can discuss what action can be taken by members

The UNISON NSL meeting is on Tuesday 26 November 6.30-7 pm

This is the link for the meeting.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87371964533?pwd=3bgMyAzDbHrvqAWofce8Mv83c7Zysx.1

Many of our members will be aware of the Camden UNISON NSL members who have won two successful pay claims. They have won these pay claims by acting together. They agreed a proposal which was submitted to NSL and rejected. UNISON members voted for strike action, and they took strike action on both occasions their strike action was successful.

We are going to invite someone from Camden UNISON to speak at our meeting.

Barnet UNISON has along track record of backing our members who have wanted to take strike action. That same support is being offered to our NSL members if we are not able to secure better pay for our members.

Your local reps are working with me to develop a plan to campaign for parking enforcement to come back inhouse, but it also needs members to become involved.

Please look out for future communications from Barnet UNISON. We will produce a leaflet for the meeting on Tuesday 26 November meeting. Please help publicise and recruit members as this is the only way to make change in the workplace.

Solidarity

John Burgess, Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON.

 

Barnet Council interim Chief Executive responds to UNISON members on grading dispute.

Brief history to this grading dispute.

On 25 April 2024 at the formal meeting with the former Chief Executive in the JNCG about the agreement to move grades A to E starting from 1 April 2024. It was agreed that Barnet Council would update UNISON on this matter in a few days.

It is worth noting in January 2024 when the trade unions were informed that Chief Executive and Director of Resources had agreed to the changes and payment from 1 April 2024, we were told that implementation would not take place until September due to concerns about Oracle, but we were assured that the payments would be backdated to 1 April 2024.

In March 2024, Barnet Council HR informed Head Teachers of the proposals to move their staff on Grades A-E. Feedback from Head Teachers was that they were supportive of this decision.

On 19 July 2024 the trade unions were formally notified that there would be a delay and the Council “would be in a position to implement changes to grades A-E towards the end of this calendar year.”

On 16 September 2024 at a formal meeting with the interim Chief Executive UNISON was informed that Barnet Council would not be able to fund this proposal and that it would not be backdated.

Barnet Council stated they want the implementation date to be from 1st April 2025 they went on to say they were waiting to hear of local government finance settlement before categorically 100% confirming this.  If the budget on 30th Oct was bad news for local government financing, then this date cannot be guaranteed adding that once the budget for 25/26 is set, a firm implementation date will be confirmed with trade unions.

Following this meeting UNISON organised workplace meetings of our members which led to members submitting signed collective letters requesting that the decision not to implement from 1 April 2024 be reconsidered.

  • On 23 September 2024 UNISON emailed to signed letters from hundreds of our members asking the interim chief executive to reconsider.
  • On 17 October UNISON emailed the interim chief executive if they were going to respond to staff.
  • On 18 October the interim chief executive emailed UNISON to say they were speaking with Executive Director of Environment and proposed that the communication would be sent at the end of the month.
  • On 18 October UNISON confirmed that would work as we had a mass meeting of members on 6 November 2024.
  • On Wednesday 6 November 2024 UNISON attended a mass meeting of members where they confirmed that they had not received any communication from you.

At that meeting our members were clearly upset over the handling of this matter and requested that UNISON record a trade dispute over failure to honour an agreement to implement the uplift from the 1 April 2024.

On 6 November UNISON emailed the interim chief executive formally registering a dispute adding that UNISON was still open to meetings to find a resolution, but confirming that we are now beginning UNISON’s internal processes for applying for an industrial action ballot

Late on Friday 8 November 2024 UNISON received the following memo which we are sharing as a hard copy and via email to our members to read and report back to our next mass meeting on Wednesday 4 December 2024, 1st Floor in new building at the following times.

  • 45-6.15 am
  • 30- 7 am

PLEASE READ MEMO FROM INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE BY CLICKING ON LINK BELOW.

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/241108-GradesA2E-LetterResponse-CS.pdf


End.

 

Barnet Council Agency Spend – Update more to follow

Below is the graph showing agency spend since 2010.

Last year Barnet Council spent £20 million.

In September 2024, staff were informed that there was a £20million deficit for this years budget.

At the end of August 2024, Barnet Council had already spent £11,950,348.29 on Agency workers.

In the meantime Barnet UNISON is trequestioing a breakdown of the use of agency/consultants across each directorate. We want to see what vacant posts are being covered by agency workers.

Since then Barnet Council has put in control measures for agency spend.


We are now waiting for the latest update on Barnet Council Agency spend for September………….

 

End.

 

 

32 – Another mental health social worker resignation at Barnet Council

Firstly, Community Care magazine published another excellent article on the ongoing mental health social worker dispute.

You can read the article here.

‘We walked out for 81 days and the service is as unsafe as it was before’

https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2024/10/21/we-walked-out-for-81-days-and-the-service-is-as-unsafe-as-it-was-before/

See some of the quotes below

We walked out for 81 days and the service is as unsafe as it was before’ (former Barnet Council mental health social worker).

“We walked out for 81 days and it made no difference. They aren’t listening to us. It’s as dangerous a service as it was when the dispute started.”

“Coming back after strike, the management don’t acknowledge it, we raise problems and they just don’t go anywhere,” says another social worker.

“My concern is, how can I practise safely as a social worker? I really can’t do a proper job. It’s just so frustrating.”

 “I’m not leaving because of the strike, I’m leaving because, through the strike, it’s become very apparent that nothing is going to get any better, as they don’t seem to value our opinion or our feedback.”


The reporting on the feedback is accurate. It is important the reasons for the exodus of social workers is recorded publicly. For some reason senior officers of the London Borough of Barnet have been ‘doubling down’ in their responses to social workers leaving. Both in meetings with senior managers and in exit interviews our members have been very clear why they have left, yet senior management is promoting a “nothing to see here, please move along” position to all press enquiries.

Feedback from our members is that morale is at rock bottom and it is highly likely more staff will be leaving as soon as they have secured their own escape plan.

The tragedy is that we are talking about mental health services. Last year the Guardian newspaper quoted hospital bosses: “Mental healthcare in England is a national emergency” https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/09/mental-healthcare-in-england-is-a-national-emergency-say-hospital-bosses

Over a decade of underfunding alongside increasing numbers of people needing mental health services has devasted the workplace and services.

Earlier this month a major strike took place, “Nurses are among a group of mental health workers in Manchester who are striking today over “unsafe” staffing levels.”

“Unison North West regional organiser Paddy Cleary said: “These early intervention mental health workers take their duties seriously, but heavy workloads, insufficient funding and unsafe staffing levels have left them with no choice but to strike.”

https://www.nursingtimes.net/mental-health/manchester-mental-health-staff-strike-over-unsafe-staffing-16-10-2024/


Back here in Barnet the indifference being shown by senior officers to the huge turnover of both permanent and agency social workers is nothing short of scandalous. Each time someone leaves it means another relationship has ended for the service user. The other worrying fact is that senior management does not appear concerned that they are unable to recruit experienced mental health social workers. They are reliant on bringing in social workers with no experience of working in mental health or taking on former student social workers with little or no experience of working with service users with complex mental health needs.

“Barnet UNISON has been clear since the beginning of this dispute on 1 September 2023, that we will not tolerate our members working in an unsafe workplace. It is bad for staff and bad for service users. We understand why social workers have left and are planning to leave. Barnet Council mental health social work teams were once a trail blazing service for crisis work. Today it is a service that is out of control and the worst part is that as our members have said ‘they don’t seem to value our opinion or our feedback’.” John Burgess, Branch Secretary Barnet UNISON.

End.

 

 

Apology: UPDATED: Barnet Council the Tale of “Three Chief Executives and one plumber

Dear Barnet UNISON Members

Following some complaints about some pay inaccuracies in our post entitled:

“UPDATED: Barnet Council the Tale of “Three Chief Executives and one plumber””

UNISON has updated the salary information.

To view updated article, click on link to our website here.

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/2024/10/18/barnet-council-the-tale-of-three-chief-executives-and-one-plumber/

At the same time, we have been informed that we will be given complete set of information about all four posts above including what is referred to a ‘oncosts’ for each role to ensure fairness and transparency.

Once we have this information we will update the articlle again.

Following the complaint, we had chance to think about our attempts for transparency and openness about spend particularly since the Council announced a serious financial crisis and the need to find £20million in savings in this financial year.

The Localism Act 2011 – Openness and accountability in local pay 1.1. Section 38(1) of the Localism Act 2011 requires local authorities to publish an annual pay policy statement.

The Local Government Transparency Code 2015 issued in February 2015 by the then Department for Communities and Local Government; and specific guidance relevant to the Localism Act issued by the Department in February 2012 and February 2013.

To comply with the above legislation Barnet Council, publish their Pay Policy document each year which shows the pay for all posts above £58k.

Barnet UNISON has reflected on this and has subsequently requested for the same transparency to be applied to TBG and BELS whereby each year the salaries that meet the criteria set out in the legislation above are published either by TBG and BELS or they are published alongside Barnet Council Annual Pay Policy each year.

Barnet UNISONs preference would be the reports would be submitted together to ensure that there is full transparency over Council spending on staff.

We are awaiting a response and will update members accordingly.

End.

Updated Barnet Council Grades – includes new National Pay Award.

Dear Barnet UNISON member

We can confirm that the National Pay Award has now been formally agreed. This means that Barnet Council workers should receive their new rate of pay and back dating to 1 April 2024 in your November payslip.

If you have worked any overtime since the 1 April 2024, the backdating for this will be paid in December payroll.

If you have any questions, please email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

The table below are the new Barnet Council grades which include the National Pay increase.

End.

 

Any queries please email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

**Please note the above Grades are based on 36 hour a week contract. Barnet UNISON is waiting for the Term Time Pay figures for the Barnet Grades.

End.

Big solidarity from Jim Morris Knight, UNISON representative of the environment agencies on water, environment and transport.

Introduction.

Barnet UNISON is a proud active fighting UNISON branch with a long history of backing our members when they want to fight back.

We have been consistently one of the highest recruiting UNISON branches in London and recently achieved a lawful strike ballot on in the UNISON National Pay ballot.

When are members are in dispute it is important that strikers receive support from others within the wider UNISON family and across the trade union movement.

Below is a message of support for our Barnet UNISON mental health social worker strikers.

 

 

Jordan Rivera UNISON NEC rep for NHS workers sends solidarity message to our mental health social workers strikers

Introduction.

Barnet UNISON is a proud active fighting UNISON branch with a long history of backing our members when they want to fight back.

We have been consistently one of the highest recruiting UNISON branches in London and recently achieved a lawful strike ballot on in the UNISON National Pay ballot.

When are members are in dispute it is important that strikers receive support from others within the wider UNISON family and across the trade union movement.

Below is a message of support for our Barnet UNISON strikers.

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